Instructions for the new Outlook.com

Outlook.com has a new tool for tasks. The new tool lets you quickly organize your tasks by adding them to My Day, marking them as important, or adding them to new lists that you create. There's even a list for tasks that you've assigned a future date to. To get started, Sign in to Outlook.com.

The new Tasks tool is a bit different from the classic Tasks in Outlook.com. Some features are different, and others will be added as the new Tasks is rolled out.

Note: If you're using the new Outlook.com, you can also view and manage your tasks on the go by installing the To-Do app.

Select
Tasks on the toolbar, then select Manage all tasks at the bottom of the Tasks pane.

Select
Tasks at the bottom of the navigation pane.

The Tasks page includes four default task lists.

My Day. This is a virtual list that's empty at the start of each day by default. You can add existing tasks to it by right-clicking a task and choosing Add to My Day, or by dragging a task from any other task list to My Day. At the top of the My Day screen, you'll find Suggestions. Suggestions are tasks that are overdue, or were moved to My Day earlier but not completed. Select
Suggestions at the top of the page to see a list of suggested tasks to add to My Day. Select the plus sign (+) next to a task to add it to My Day. Select Done when you've finished to close the Suggestions list and return to My Day.

Note: My Day is a virtual list that's cleared at midnight every night. Tasks that appear in My Day are stored in other task lists, so they aren't deleted when My Day is cleared.

Suggestions is another virtual list. Suggestions includes tasks that are due today or in the future, are overdue, or were previously moved to My Day but not completed.

Important is a virtual list of tasks that you've marked as important. You can mark a task as important by right-clicking it and selecting Mark as important, or by selecting the star icon next to it.

Planned is a virtual list that includes tasks that have a future reminder or due date. Tasks that you create with a reminder or due date will automatically appear in this list.

Tasks. All items in the default tasks folder appear in this list.

You can add a task list by selecting New list in the navigation pane.

You can add new tasks by selecting any task list, then choosing the plus sign next to Add a task and entering a description of your task. If you add a task in the My Day, Important, or Planned virtual lists, the task will be saved in Tasks and linked to the virtual list you created it from.

Select a task in any list to see all of the available options for that task. You can do things like add additional steps, add them to My Day, make them repeating, add a due date or reminder, and add a note.

Settings for the new Tasks are on their own page. From the Tasks page, select
Settings at the top of the page to see all options for the new Tasks.

Unlike the classic Tasks page in Outlook.com, the new virtual task lists don't include messages that you've flagged. You can create a task from a message by dragging the message to the Tasks pane in Mail.

You can switch back to the classic Tasks by selecting The new Tasks toggle at the top of the Tasks page.

If you've switched to classic Tasks, you can switch back by selecting the Try the beta toggle at the top of the Tasks page.

Instructions for classic Outlook.com

Classic tasks includes tasks that you previously created and saved in any Tasks folder, plus messages that you've flagged.

View the following image and the numbered items corresponding to each area to get an overview of the Tasks pane.

My tasks - Displays folders you can use to view and manage your tasks. Choose whether you want to view items you have flagged as important. You can create new task folders and rename or move existing ones. To add a folder, right-click My tasks and select Create new folder. To rename or delete folders, right-click the folder and select Rename or Delete.

Tasks list - Filter and display tasks based on the status you've assigned to them. Use the Filter menu to sort tasks based on different criteria.

Use the command bar above the tasks list to delete, categorize, or mark complete a selected task. For email messages, Reply is available.

Task details - View details of the task selected in the tasks list. To edit task details such as status, priority, and percent complete, select
.

Select the Filter menu and choose how you want to sort the tasks in the task list. For example, in the following image, tasks are sorted by status (Active), due date, and with the oldest tasks on top. You can sort by Active, Overdue, or Completed.